Chapter 60 · Brother's Cage

“Don’t touch the cage.”

Lila’s hand stopped inches from the control panel.

Behind the glass, her brother lifted his head.

Not slowly. Not like a sick man trying to wake up. His neck snapped straight, and both eyes opened at once.

Cain caught Lila by the back of her jacket and hauled her away from the panel. Her boots scraped across the metal floor. His chest hit her shoulder blades, hard and hot, pinning her between him and the wall.

“Let go,” she hissed.

“Your brother isn’t alone in that body.”

“You saw him for three seconds.”

“I saw enough.”

The figure in the cage pressed both palms to the glass.

The glass bowed outward.

Lila’s breath caught. “Tomas?”

His mouth opened. His voice came through the speaker, rough and broken.

“Lila?”

She shoved Cain’s arm away. “Tomas! I’m here.”

The figure flinched at her voice. For half a second, he looked like the boy who used to steal ration chips from her pocket and blame the neighbors.

Then black lines crawled up his throat.

His fingers tightened against the glass.

“Get back,” Cain said.

“No.”

“Lila.”

“You don’t get to order me around.